Skip to 0 minutes and 5 seconds In 2017, more than 5 million people received essential household items from the ICRC, almost 8 million people received food supplies, over 35’000 detainees were visited and their case monitored, and nearly 36 million people saw their housing or water supply conditions improved. That’s the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross, we protect and assist victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. But our work, like any other activity, faces many sustainability challenges. The logistics behind our activities emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. The plastic packaging used for goods we distribute amounts to 1’500 tons that would end up in the environment if not properly managed.
Skip to 0 minutes and 57 seconds Every year, we purchase around 50’000 tons of rice, 13’000 tons of vegetable oils and almost a million blankets – just to name a few examples – from areas where labor rights or environmental standards may not be systematically enforced. So the question is, how can we mitigate these social and environmental risks without compromising the effectiveness of our humanitarian response? In this course, we want to share the initiatives the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement developed for integrating sustainable development into our activities. We will walk you through the steps from policy definition to programme implementation. We’ll take a product life cycle perspective, hearing from the logistics teams and our suppliers.
Skip to 1 minute and 44 seconds And field experts will explain their projects in the areas of water, energy and waste. By the end of the course, you will be able to set up your own sustainability program by applying our methodology to the risks carried by your organization. We’ll share our lessons learned and you’ll share your own experiences and opinions with other learners from around the world, thinking together on how to put sustainable development theory into practice. Sign up, and join us to transform humanitarian response into sustainable actions!
